Faculty and students at Highland Schools are using this week to highlight mental health awareness in their community. High School and Middle School Counselor Derick Ball has coordinated events and activities with students this week to emphasize the importance of mental health for those in the district. He and Highland student Charlie Eicher spoke with KCII news this week about why this is an important topic. Ball said “We got together as a group and decided we were going to do something at the end of October. Regardless of how you define mental health, I think it’s s0mething that affects a large population, a variety of ages. There’s lots of diagnosed illness out there. There are resources, and we have improved resources and access in Washington County. I think that mental illness especially with COVID is running rampant right now and anything we can do to raise awareness is the goal.” 

Eicher added, “Mental illnesses are hard to describe as certain symptoms because they affect each person differently. I think that’s one of the main things we want to talk about. It’s okay to not feel okay. And that there is plenty of help that is available for you.”

Students this week are putting together events, newsletters, posters and videos about specific mental illnesses, explaining symptoms and presenting resources for help. Their theme is “We Are Here” to promote acceptance, acknowledgement and willingness to support others. Ball and Eicher explain that one of the most difficult things about mental illness is that it can affect anyone at any time. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five adults, or roughly 600,000 Iowans live with some sort of mental illness.